Corrosion related deterioration of constructed facilities, such as coastal and marine structures, bridge decks, chemical and wastewater treatment plants, results in costly repairs and leads to user inconveniences. To improve the longevity of these facilities, the use of non-corrosive fiber reinforced plastic (frp) rebars offers an alternative to mild steel rebars as reinforcement in concrete structures. Because the mechanical properties of frp rebars are different from those of steel rebars, the performance of the frp rebars embedded in concrete is not fully understood. As an example, the tensile strength varies with the diameter size of the rebar. For an e-glass frp rebar with 55% glass volume fraction, the ultimate strength is 130 ksi for a no 3 rebar and 80 ksi for a no 7 rebar, based on gross areaof rebar. In addition, the modulus of elasticity is about 7, 000 ksiwhich is about 1/4 of mild steel. There is an urgent need for information regarding the bending and bond behavior of concrete sections reinforced with frp rebars. A series of laboratory tests on concretebeams reinforced with frp rebars is outlined in this paper. The major emphasis of these tests is to evaluate concrete beams reinforced with frp rebars in terms of the stress-strain behavior, load-deflection variations, load carrying capacities, crack patterns, modes of failure and bond strength. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1290, Third bridge engineering conference, march 10-13, 1991, denver, colorado, volume 2.
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